The following is a list of the largest airlines in Europe by total scheduled and chartered passengers, in millions. The list includes companies classified as European by the IATA. The order of the chart and its completion goes only up to the year 2023.
Country | Airline/holding | '23 | '22 | '21 | '20 | '19 | '18 | '17 | '16 | '15 | '14 | '13 | '12 | '11 | '10 | '09 | '08 | '07 | '06 | Fleet | Destinations | Sources | Alliance | Association |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ireland Malta Poland United Kingdom | Ryanair [lower-alpha 1] | 181.74 | 160.4 | 72.4 | 52.01 | 152.4 | 139.2 | 128.77 | 116.8 | 101.4 | 86.4 | 81.40 | 79.61 | 76.4 | 72.7 | 65.3 | 57.7 | 49.0 | 40.5 | 430 | 186 | A4E | ||
Germany Austria Belgium Switzerland | Lufthansa Group [lower-alpha 2] | 122.5 | 101.77 | 46.9 | 36.35 | 145.2 | 142.3 | 130.04 | 117.4 | 115.2 | 112.5 | 110.4 | 108.9 | 112.0 | 95.1 | 81.2 | 76.4 | 68.8 | 59.1 | 728 | 321 | Star Alliance | A4E IATA | |
United Kingdom Ireland Spain | International Airlines Group [lower-alpha 3] | 115.6 | 94.73 | 38.86 | 31.3 | 118.3 | 112.92 | 104.83 | 100.7 | 94.9 | 77.3 | 67.22 | 54.6 | 51.7 | 50.6 | 53.3 | 59.8 | 61.7 | 63.2 | 520 | 248 | oneworld | A4E ERA IATA | |
France Netherlands | Air France-KLM [lower-alpha 4] | 93.6 | 83.32 | 44.67 | 34.1 | 104.2 | 101.45 | 98.72 | 93.4 | 89.8 | 87.4 | 78.44 | 77.45 | 75.8 | 70.8 | 71.4 | 73.8 | 74.8 | 73.5 | 574 | 231 | | SkyTeam | A4E ERA IATA |
Turkey | Turkish Airlines [lower-alpha 5] | 83.4 | 71.82 | 44.8 | 27.95 | 74.28 | 75.16 | 68.61 | 62.8 | 61.2 | 54.8 | 48.3 | 39.0 | 32.6 | 29.1 | 25.1 | 22.6 | 19.6 | 16.9 | 400 | 337 | | Star Alliance | AIRE IATA |
United Kingdom Austria Switzerland | EasyJet [lower-alpha 6] | 82.8 | 69.7 | 20.4 | 16.09 | 103.3 | 88.5 | 81.63 | 74.5 | 69.9 | 65.3 | 61.33 | 59.21 | 55.5 | 49.7 | 46.1 | 44.6 | 38.2 | 33.0 | 300 | 136 | | A4E | |
Hungary United Kingdom Malta United Arab Emirates | Wizz Air [lower-alpha 7] | 60.3 | 45.6 | 21.7 | 16.67 | 39.8 | 33.81 | 28.27 | 22.78 | 19.2 | 15.8 | 13.5 | 12.0 | 11.2 | 9.6 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 168 | 144 | |||
Russia | Aeroflot Group [lower-alpha 8] | 47.3 | 40.7 | 45.81 | 30.16 | 60.7 | 55.7 | 50.13 | 43.4 | 39.4 | 34.7 | 31.4 | 27.5 | 16.4 | 14.1 | 11.1 | 11.6 | 10.2 | 8.7 | 336 | 189 | | IATA | |
Turkey | Pegasus Airlines | 31.93 | 26.94 | 20.16 | 14.71 | 30.76 | 29.97 | 27.82 | 24.14 | 22.3 | 19.7 | 16.8 | 13.6 | 11.3 | 8.6 | 5.9 | 4.4 | - | 3.1 | 94 | 109 | | IATA | |
Sweden Norway Denmark Ireland | SAS Group [lower-alpha 9] | 21.1 | 17.87 | 10.19 | 8.81 | 29.8 | 30.0 | 28.37 | 29.4 | 27.1 | 27.3 | 25.56 | 25.32 | 24.7 | 23.1 | 22.8 | 27.0 | 27.2 | 26.9 | 134 | 124 | | SkyTeam | ERA IATA |
Norway Sweden | Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA [lower-alpha 10] | 20.6 | 17.84 | 6.19 | 6.87 | 36.20 | 37.34 | 33.15 | 29.3 | 25.8 | 24.0 | 20.71 | 17.69 | 15.7 | 13.0 | 10.8 | 9.1 | 6.9 | 5.1 | 64 | 130 | | A4E | |
Germany Belgium Denmark Finland Ireland Netherlands Norway Sweden United Kingdom | TUI Group [lower-alpha 11] | 16.7 | 2.02 | 2.02 | 26.0 | 33.7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 133 | - | | A4E IATA | |||||||
United Kingdom | Jet2.com | 16.57 | 15.53 | 3.17 | 2.85 | 14.39 | 12.09 | 9.64 | 6.67 | 5.85 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 4.78 | 4.2 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 2.8 | 90 | 50 | | A4E | |
Russia | S7 Airlines [lower-alpha 12] | 15.9 | 16.03 | 17.83 | 12.35 | 17.9 | 15.96 | 14.25 | 13.15 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 8.3 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 100 | 121 | IATA | ||
Portugal | TAP Air Portugal [lower-alpha 13] | 15.9 | 13.76 | 5.83 | 4.66 | 17.05 | 15.89 | 14.27 | 11.72 | 11.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 6.9 | 110 | 88 | Star Alliance | A4E ERA IATA | |
Greece | Aegean Airlines [lower-alpha 14] | 15.46 | 12.5 | 7.19 | 5.17 | 14.99 | 13.97 | 13.22 | 12.46 | 11.6 | 10.2 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 9.9 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 11.3 | 11.1 | 10.1 | 67 | 153 | Star Alliance | A4E IATA | |
Italy | ITA Airways | 15 | 10.1 | 1.32 | — | 95 | 70 | SkyTeam | IATA | |||||||||||||||
Turkey | SunExpress | 12.6 | 10.7 | 68 | 92 | IATA | ||||||||||||||||||
Finland | Finnair | 10.9 | 9.10 | 2.85 | 3.48 | 14.65 | 13.28 | 11.90 | 10.87 | 10.2 | 9.6 | 9.27 | 8.77 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 73 | 103 | oneworld | A4E IATA | |
Spain | Air Europa | 10.7 | 10.03 | 5.04 | 4.26 | 13.13 | 11.84 | 10.6 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 8.1 | 9.0 | 8.1 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 8.1 | 59 | 44 | | SkyTeam | IATA |
Spain | Volotea | 10.4 | 9.4 | 6.0 | 3.8 | 7.6 | 6.57 | 4.82 | 4.3 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 23 | 60 | A4E IATA | |||
Poland | LOT Polish Airlines [lower-alpha 15] | 10.03 | 9.3 | 4.2 | 3.59 | 11.79 | 10.61 | 6.89 | 5.58 | 6.1 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 3.7 | - | 91 | 120 | | Star Alliance | AIRE IATA |
Russia | Ural Airlines | 9.41 | 8.49 | 9.20 | 5.60 | 9.62 | 9.0 | 8.0 | 6.47 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 47 | 66 | | IATA | |
Kazakhstan | Air Astana [lower-alpha 16] | 8.1 | 7.4 | 6.62 | 3.70 | 5.12 | 4.32 | 4.19 | 3.75 | 3.86 | 3.77 | 3.68 | 3.24 | 3.06 | 2.57 | 2.20 | 2.30 | 2.13 | 1.47 | 34 | 69 | IATA | ||
Germany | Condor | 7.0 | IATA | |||||||||||||||||||||
Russia | UTair Aviation | 6.06 | 5.54 | 7.12 | 4.90 | 8.09 | 7.65 | 7.3 | 6.65 | 8.8 | 11.2 | 10.4 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 3.23 | 2.93 | 2.42 | 66 | 117 | IATA | ||
Russia | Nordwind Airlines | 5.93 | 2.94 | 5.54 | 4.92 | 3.55 | 1.79 | 2.67 | 4.47 | 3.66 | 2.17 | 1.72 | 1.19 | - | - | - | - | 26 | 97 | IATA | ||||
Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovakia | Smartwings [lower-alpha 17] | 5.2 | 2.53 | 1.8 | 9.6 | 8.8 | 8.17 | 7.3 | 6.57 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 57 | ? | | SkyTeam | IATA | ||
United Kingdom | Virgin Atlantic | 5.3 | 4.4 | 1.10 | 1.19 | 5.87 | 5.4 | 5.20 | 5.20 | 5.94 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4.6 | 40 | 37 | SkyTeam | IATA | |
Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan Airways | 5 | 4.23 | 3.80 | 3.17 | 2.7 | 2.47 | 2.57 | 2.63 | 2.58 | 2.64 | IATA | ||||||||||||
Latvia | AirBaltic | 4.54 | 3.44 | 1.6 | 1.36 | 5.05 | 4.14 | 3.52 | 2.89 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.95 | 3.08 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 2.8 | - | 2.0 | 1.4 | 32 | 60 | A4E IATA | ||
Iceland | Icelandair Group [lower-alpha 18] | 4.3 | 3.66 | 1.46 | 0.89 | 4.41 | 4.14 | 4.05 | 3.67 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 47 | 36 | A4E IATA | ||
Greece | Sky Express | 4.3 | 3.30 | 1.72 | 1.20 | 1.00 | 0.50 | 0.17 | 0.07 | — | 17 | 43 | | ERA | ||||||||||
Serbia | Air Serbia | 4.19 | 2.75 | 1.59 | 0.87 | 2.81 | 2.48 | 2.61 | 2.62 | 2.55 | 2.3 | - | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 34 | 81 | ERA IATA | ||
Russia | Azur Air | 3.73 | 1.93 | 5.79 | 4.24 | 3.75 | 2.34 | 2.35 | 0.21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 27 | ||||||
Russia | Smartavia | 3.62 | 1.64 | 2.03 | 1.19 | 1.09 | 0.96 | 0.73 | 0.76 | 0.76 | 0.81 | 1.47 | 1.4 | - | - | - | - | 15 | 67 | IATA | ||||
Russia | Red Wings Airlines | 3.00 | 1.54 | 3.07 | 2.62 | 1.62 | 0.92 | 1.04 | 0.92 | 0.35 | 0.82 | 0.78 | 0.88 | - | - | - | - | 18 | 20 | |||||
Belarus | Belavia | 4.00 | 3.39 | 3.0 | 2.49 | 2.09 | 1.97 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 29 | 48 | | IATA | |||||||||
Norway | Widerøe | 3.3 | 3.28 | 2.45 | 1.77 | 3.00 | ERA IATA | |||||||||||||||||
Luxembourg | Luxair [lower-alpha 19] | 2.5 | 2.05 | 1.08 | 0.66 | 2.15 | 2.13 | 1.93 | 1.84 | 1.81 | 1.68 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 17 | 59 | A4E ERA IATA | |||
Portugal | SATA Group [lower-alpha 20] | 2.4 | 1.92 | 1.28 | 0.67 | 1.71 | 0.89 | 0.99 | 0.86 | ERA IATA | ||||||||||||||
Romania | TAROM | 2.3 | 0.90 | 3.3 | 2.80 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 25 | 50 | SkyTeam | IATA | |||
Azerbaijan | Azerbaijan Airlines | 2.25 | 0.87 | 0.57 | 2.60 | 1.89 | 2.29 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 32 | 57 | IATA | ||||||||||||
Poland | Enter Air | 2.2 | 1.72 | 1.12 | 1.17 | 1.11 | 1.17 | - | - | - | - | - | 1.2 | — | 19 | 74 | ||||||||
Russia | Azimuth | 2.09 | 1.22 | 1.25 | 0.67 | 0.07 | — | 11 | 31 | |||||||||||||||
Croatia | Croatia Airlines | 1.73 | 1.45 | 0.79 | 0.62 | 2.18 | 2.17 | 2.13 | 1.94 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 13 | 40 | Star Alliance | ERA IATA | ||
Russia | Pegas Fly | 1.72 | 0.76 | 2.16 | 2.02 | 1.38 | 0.99 | 1.08 | 1.24 | 0.28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 29 | |||||
Malta | Air Malta | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.73 | 1.74 | 1.76 | 1.66 | 1.68 | 1.68 | 1.64 | 1.74 | 1.63 | 1.61 | 8 | 37 | ERA IATA | ||||||||
Iceland | PLAY | 1.52 | 0.79 | 0.10 | — | 10 | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
Russia | NordStar | 1.26 | 1.08 | 1.16 | 0.88 | 1.28 | 1.42 | 1.4 | 1.29 | 1.13 | 1.1 | 1.24 | 1.16 | 0.77 | 0.54 | - | — | 15 | 50 | | IATA | |||
United Kingdom | Loganair | 1.23 | 1.29 | 0.73 | 0.35 | 0.95 | 0.76 | 0.77 | 0.75 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 34 | 44 | ERA | ||
Russia | Yamal Airlines | 1.26 | 0.70 | 1.75 | 1.97 | 1.79 | 1.45 | 1.43 | 1.45 | 1.3 | 0.91 | 0.57 | 0.5 | 36 | 38 | |||||||||
Ukraine Malta | SkyUp [lower-alpha 21] | 1.08 | 2.57 | 1.25 | 1.71 | 0.44 | — | 14 | 64 | | ||||||||||||||
Russia | I-Fly | 1.13 | 0.75 | 0.4 | 0.61 | 0.97 | 1.05 | 0.63 | 0.41 | 0.38 | - | - | - | - | 10 | 30 | ||||||||
Norway | Norse Atlantic Airways | 0.98 | 0.30 | — | 12 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||
Bulgaria | Bulgaria Air | 0.65 | 0.54 | 1.40 | 1.27 | 1.24 | 1.25 | 1.27 | 1.40 | 1.20 | 1.12 | 10 | 26 | IATA | ||||||||||
Ukraine | Windrose | 1.44 | 1.30 | 12 | 19 | |||||||||||||||||||
Ukraine | Ukraine International Airlines | - | - | 2.79 | 1.73 | 7.97 | 8.08 | 6.93 | 6.0 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 42 | 80 | | IATA |
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, known informally as Schiphol Airport, is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located 9 kilometres southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland. It is the world's third busiest airport by international passenger traffic in 2023. With almost 72 million passengers in 2019, it is the third-busiest airport in Europe in terms of passenger volume and the busiest in Europe in terms of aircraft movements. With an annual cargo tonnage of 1.74 million, it is the 4th busiest in Europe. AMS covers a total area of 6,887 acres of land. The airport is built on the single-terminal concept: one large terminal split into three departure halls.
Marrakesh Menara Airport is an international airport serving Marrakesh, the capital city of the Marrakesh-Safi region in Morocco. It is an international facility that receives several European flights as well as flights from Casablanca, some of the Arab world nations and from 2024, flights from North America. The airport served over 6.3 million passengers in 2019.
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup is an international airport serving Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, as well as Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. In 2023 it is the largest airport in the Nordic countries.
George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Belfast Harbour and is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems aircraft manufacturing facility. The airport began commercial operations in 1983, and was known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast. The airport has a CAA public use aerodrome licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, often referred to as the Rinas International Airport, is one of the two main international airports of the Republic of Albania. It serves the city of Tirana, its metropolitan area, and surrounding region in the county of Tirana. The airport is named in honor of the Albanian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, Mother Teresa (1910–1997). It is located 6 nautical miles northwest of Tirana, in the municipality of Krujë, Durrës County.
Malta International Airport is the only airport in Malta, and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands. It is located on the island of Malta, southwest of the Maltese capital, Valletta, in the town of Luqa, and occupies the location of the former RAF Luqa. The airport serves as the main hub for KM Malta Airlines and Medavia besides being an operating base for Ryanair and its subsidiary Malta Air. It is also home to the Area Control Center and hosts the annual Malta Airshow. The airport is operated by Malta International Airport plc.
Gran Canaria Airport is a passenger and freight airport on the island of Gran Canaria. It is an important airport within the Spanish air-transport network, as it holds the sixth position in terms of passengers, and fifth in terms of operations and cargo transported. It also ranks first of the Canary Islands in all three categories, although the island of Tenerife has higher passenger numbers overall if statistics from the two airports located on the island are combined. The facility covers 553 hectares of land and contains two 3,100m runways.
Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, is an international airport 2.3 NM southwest of Catania, the second largest city on the Italian island of Sicily. It is named after the opera composer Vincenzo Bellini, who was born in Catania.
Tenerife South Airport, also known as Tenerife South–Reina Sofía Airport, is the larger of the two international airports located on the island of Tenerife and the second busiest in the Canary Islands.
Dubrovnik Ruđer Bošković Airport, also referred to as Čilipi Airport, is the international airport of Dubrovnik, Croatia. The airport is located approximately 15.5 km (9.5 mi) from Dubrovnik city center, near Čilipi. It was the third-busiest airport in Croatia in 2019 after Zagreb Airport and Split Airport in terms of passenger throughput. It has the country's longest runway, allowing it to accommodate heavy long-haul aircraft. The airport is a major destination for leisure flights during the European summer holiday season.
Salzburg Airport, branded as Salzburg Airport W. A. Mozart, is Austria's second largest airport. It serves Salzburg, the fourth-largest Austrian city, and is a gateway to Austria's numerous ski areas. The airport is located 1.7 NM west-south-west of the Salzburg City centre and 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Austrian-German border. It is jointly owned by Salzburg Municipality (25%) and Salzburg State (75%). The airport is named after the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport is an international airport of Bordeaux, in southwestern France. It is situated in the commune of Mérignac, 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Bordeaux, within the département of the Gironde. It mainly features flights to metropolitan and leisure destinations in Europe, Northern Africa, and Canada, and serves as a base for easyJet, Ryanair and Volotea airlines.
Aviapartner, whose origins date back to 1949 under the name of Herfurth Air Services to become 'Belgavia' in the late 1960s, is a Belgian company that provides ground handling services at 72 airports in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands and recently in South-Africa. Among the airports served are Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Düsseldorf, Rome, Nice, Toulouse and Málaga.
An inflight magazine is a free magazine distributed via the seats of an airplane, by an airline company, or in an airport lounge.
Palma de Mallorca Airport is an international airport located 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Palma, Mallorca, Spain, adjacent to the village of Can Pastilla.